And now I, Nephi, do not make a full account of the things which my father hath written, for he hath written many things which he saw in visions and in dreams; and he also hath written many things which he prophesied and spake unto his children, of which I shall not make a full account.

There is a lesson I find in the scriptures that occurs on so many levels, over and over. It is simply this: when the Lord gives, He gives abundantly. He is a loving God of abundance. This situation is no exception. Lehi needed to know of the destruction of Jerusalem, but that’s not all he was shown. We don’t know all that took place in this vision, but we know that there were many things which he saw in visions, of which Nephi didn’t make a full account.

I, Nephi, do not make a full account

The books of 1 Nephi through Jacob are the portion of the Book of Mormon that are known to be unabridged. But Nephi himself confesses that his own record begins with an abridgement of the words of his father.

And what was Nephi’s guide to know which things to include, and which to leave out? “I do not write anything upon plates,” Nephi says, “save it be that I think it be sacred.”^[1]Nevertheless, I do not write anything upon plates save it be that I think it be sacred. And now, if I do err, even did they err of old; not that I would excuse myself because of other men, but … Continue reading Nephi’s whole focus is bringing people to Christ. If he didn’t think a particular detail wouldn’t help with that goal, he didn’t include it. That’s useful to know while reading his account, because it means we can constantly ask ourselves, “How does this help bring me closer to Christ?” and then ponder the answer.

…and he also hath written many things which he prophesied and spake unto his children, of which I shall not make a full account.

So Lehi himself wrote many things of his prophesies. Where are those writings now? Most likely, those are among the writings found in the Book of Lehi, which is the 116 pages of lost manuscript.

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Gospel Living Made Awesome is not an official work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If Chas says something stupid, it's his own fault.